Atlético issue apology to the Puerta family

Club "deeply repulsed" by chants mocking Antonio Puerta, who tragically died in 2007

In Sunday’s match against Sevilla, a group of fans at the Vicente Calderón sang chants mocking the tragic death of former Sevilla player Antonio Puerta, who passed away in August of 2007 after succumbing to heart failure.

Three days before he died, Puerta, who was only 22-years-old, collapsed on the pitch of the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán during a match against Getafe.

Atlético have issued an official statement condemning the disgraceful behaviour, which reads as follows:

Atlético Madrid deeply regret the chants aimed at Antonio Puerta during the match this past Sunday, the 2nd of October at the Vicente Calderón Stadium. Our club is deeply repulsed by these songs and apologises to the family of the late footballer, to Sevilla and to the general football public. Atlético Madrid supports respect in football and we hope that these actions are not repeated at our stadium or in any other of our football grounds.

7th

hope karma doesnt go bitch on us.

92

Don’t worry 7th, is the fans that did this are the ones that will suffer the karma, shame on them, I don’t get why they do this, mocking a person that is dead, stupid misfits, they should be banned permanently and go to jail.

R.I.P Antonio Puerta, you were a great footballer and a better person.

SoLobo

WE did that???? Idiots are everywhere… Really! Deeply sorry for Puerta’s family.

I was in Calderon I’m not proud of that! i’m spanish i gon to Calderon every weekend and i never heard thing like that (sorry for my english)

Independencia

Pablo, FA insults everyday to everybody without any respect to nobody. These modals have been seen in other ocasions. I´m atletico, and i go to Calderón. FA is not equale to an atletico fan. They are fascist and always commit disrespectful with people who has passed away (Jarque, Zabaleta, Juanito, Mijatovic´s son….)

javi

As a result of these morons, now a Sevilla fans wants to have Atleti sanctioned:

Great research Javi!, and about Atleti being sanctioned, I think it’s no use in sanctioned the club, it would be harsh, considering it was the FA as Independencia mentioned that were involdved in the incident, and if someoned needs to be sanctioned is these guys (FA), for what I’ve heard these guys like to cause riots and go unnotice without being punished, so either they stop being complete scoundrels or LFP fines them, otherwise, these individuals will keep on soiling Atleti’s and us fans image.

Luisrod

Hi there,

I was in the stadium in the match against Seville. I have season tickets, and sit in the South goal, opposite to the hooligans. From my seat the offensive chants were not audible. At some point I did hear part of the stadium, the part closer to the hooligans, wooing at them. Actually, it was wistling. In Spain, you do not woo, you wistle. I figured that the idiots were chanting something stupid and the decent fans got upset.

I figured that one out because it has happened before. Last season, in the match against Real Sociedad, the biggots chanted mocking songs against a kid they stabbed to death back in 1998 on the street by the stadium, before the game started. His name, Aitor Zabaleta. You can check it out these unfortunate chants in youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJOERkwmF4E

When the sang this horrible songs the entire stadium wistled at them with fury. Twice the sang this song during that game. Twice they were shut up by the rest of the stadium. This reaction from the decent people among us is rarely portrayed in the news. I just wanted you guys to know that the rest of the stadium does not put up with this kind of crap.

Frente Atletico, the hoolingan group behind the South goal, is a big group. I am sure that there are lots of nice guys among them. However, there is also a pretty violent, racist, pro-Franco and pro-Nazi section very prominent in Frente Atletico. I despise it. And I am not alone in this regard in the Estadio Vicente Calderon. I is a real shame that the President and his team do nothing about them. They do not do justice to a great club and its great supporters.

Keep up the good work this the site!

Aupa Atleti

Martin Rosenow

Luisrod, that’s very good to know. Thanks for sharing that information with us.

javi

Luisrod, I just saw that video, pretty disgusting stuff. The team should do something about these guys, they are tainting the team and all of us.
A friend who is a RM fan was giving me crap about this, as if I was responsible. I, of course immediately put him in his place as the RM fans are not exactly angels and I explained to him what Luisrod said, that it is only a small group of singe cell reTards, not the team or the rest of us fans.

Luisrod

Hi there,

Unfortunately, this is an old issue. At least 30 years old in Spain. As you said, Javi, it is a common problem to all big soccer club, no just Atletico. It will only come to an end when the Presidents stop funding them, giving them storage rooms in the stadiums, paying for their trips… The former Barcelona president Joan Laporta is the only one who did so a few years ago. I am still waiting for one Atletico president to do the same thing.

The good news is that the vast majority of supporters do not condone this kind of attitude. As i said, the entire Vicente Calderon shuts them up by whistling at them when the sing disgustingly offensive chants.

Aupa Atleti

1982 Vallecas

Hi all

I’d like to inform about Frente Atletico: For those who want us to be fired from Atletico, just to say that “El Frente” is a part of the Club, as important as the Calderon Stadium, or the bear in the Shield…

For those who say that we are pro-Franco and pro-Nazi, I invite them to show any photograph, video, symbol shown in the Calderon in the last 10 years with that kind of political connotatios. Of course, there are some of the group which probably support that kind of politics, as well as some other think in a different way. I can confirm that, after 15 years of being part of this group, I have never been asked for my political ideology.

We make mistakes, of course. The issue of Antonio Puerta has been exagerated… Let me explain myself: In most of the Spanish stadiums have been song against dead people of rival teams: Jarque at Barcelona, Arteche at Sevilla, Juanito at Atletico de Madrid, etc. I agree this kind of songs should be removed from futbol stadiums, but please, don’t point Frente Atletico to be the only guilty for a issue that is common in most of the Spanish Stadiums.

Just to thank to all the supporters that thank Frente Atletico for singing during all the game, preparing impressive tifos (I don’t know the English word for it), and expending lots of our own money and time to prepare trips to follow Atletico.

Congratulations for this web page. I hope to see you, Atleticos not born in Spain, at Calderon and can chat over a beer about Atletico.

Forza Atleti!

Ram San

First of all sorry for my English. When these undesirable sing and is heard by the rest of the field are booed, but usually very short and not being heard all over the field. In other fields it is the same and are also booed. As for the complaint of Sevilla fan I suppose complaint when they sing the same thing about the player Arteche, recently deceased, and other songs like “Atochaaaaa Pummmmmmm” referring to the sad events of 11-M in Madrid. As despicable as the other one is. All of them should refuse entry to any event whether sporting or otherwise.

Luisrod

Vallecas, you must be a good person. I am sure of it. However, writing that “there are some of the group which probably support that kind [pro-Franco and pro-Nazi] of politics” and some do not, seems to me to fall really short of the truth.

Yes, I do appreciate how much you guys cheer during the games, how much guys help the team with most of your chants. And yet, I do not appreciate the rest of the story. Not even one bit.

Please tell me that it was not Frente Atletico members who beat up Seville fans last Sunday. Final count: 6 Seville fans and 2 policemen injured. This happend hours before the game started, miles away from the stadium, at the Seville fans gathering point where the police was hoping to protect them. Guys from your group went out of their way expressely to beat Seville fans up, police and all. Here, a link to this piece of news: http://www.as.com/futbol/articulo/heridos-policias-aficionados-sevilla/20111002dasdasftb_25/Tes

Please tell me that when people among you display Franco-times flags during the games against Basque and Catalan teams, such as the ones that you can see in the youtube video I posted above, and rise your right arm doing the fascits salute, you mean it in a democratic way as an attempt to foster friendship among the peoples of Spain. Please tell me that the group of huge and built-up Polish skinheads, looking like a scary death squad, that travels with you to the games abroad, in fact helps old ladies to cross the street and gives sweets wrapeed in red and white to little children.

Please tell me that when you sing “Marcelo es un mono”, that is, “Marcelo is a monkey” you do not mean it in a racist way. Please tell me that when you yelled monkey sounds at Kanouté last Sunday during the game it was also meant in a nice way. Please tell me that the large banner displayed against Galatasaray last season that read “Turkey is not Europe” was a respectful way to address the opponent´s country, again fostering much needed friendly relations among peoples. And please tell me what the heck it had to do with the game.

And so on, and so forth. Yes, you will not see a political symbol, except for the Franco Spanish national flag, because political symbols they are forbidden in Spain and the club would be severely sanctioned otherwise. But this does not mean much.

If all these activities are carried out by a small minority among you, then I invite the decent people among you to kick this minority out of Frente Atletico. Unfortunately, you and I know that they are too powerful, too scary, and too important in Frente Atletico to be kicked out from the inside. Well, the decent people among you better find a way to get rid of the violent and the fascists/racists before a decent president gets rid of the entire Frente Atletico. It will end up happening sooner or later. Just sit down a wait.

Daneatl

Where’s the “like button” ?

Ringo

Luisrod, you make good points 🙂
And Vallecas, just because something is common, doesn’t mean it should be tolerated, I’d rather see Atleti play in an empty stadium, than “supported” by people who just sit there to figuratively and literally try to destroy the opponents instead of chanting for their own side, in a good way, as I see it.

If you think nothing should be done about it, because it’s common, I’d rather see the decent president Luisrod mentioned kicking the whole Frente out, than keeping them with those bad people I’d rather not be relative to in ANY way. I don’t want to hide my being fan of Atleti because I’m ashamed of the crowd or stop being fan at all, because there are too many idiots.

They won’t be hurt by fining Atleti, because they’re just too stupid, but perhaps a fine would make the board think it’s best to finally do something about one of the biggest idiots you’ll ever see and make you afraid of coming to the Calderon and wear an Atletico Madrid kit on the streets, because you might be pointed out as racist, even though you might not be that at all, like me and plenty of other fans.

So there are two possibilities: Frente kicks the idiots out, or the whole Frente should be removed.
I don’t see the idiots changing, so I see no other possibility.

1982 Vallecas

Hi again

Luisrod:
Regarding the fight against Sevilla fans: Yes, we arrange an appointment with them in a separate place so no one that didn’t want to be involved in the riot would be affected. Both agroups agreed it. In fact, the biris were the ones who called us to tell us they were ready for our visit. Nothing else to add… It was just affected the ones that participated in the fight. Apologizes for the policemen affected.

I agree with you that political symbols should be removed from futbol. I hope you agree with me that the nmber of Franco’s symbols have been dramatically reduced and the Nazi symbols have been completely removed from Fondo Sur. We won’t get our goal in one day, but we are in the right way…

Regarding Ruzh Chorzow fans I recommend you to inform yourseld better. I don’t care about their political way of thinking, but just thank them for all their effort to travel all over 4000 km to join us supporting Atletico. I don’t know if they help old ladies or give present to children, but they make much more efforts that most of the Spanish supporters to follow Atletico, so we must appreciate what they do for us.

Regarding racist sounds: Can you confirm they are only played from Fondo Sur? That song of “Marcelo eres un mono” was song in all the Stadium. The sign of “Aguero muerete” (Aguero I wish you the death) during Stromghodset game was shown in the West area of the Stadium. I also remember all the Stadium jumping at the rithm of “Puto Vasco el que no bote es” (The one not jumping is Fucking Basque) during the game agains Real Sociedad aroung 1997 … So, don’t try to confuse and point the Frente Atletico as responsible for every bad issue at the Stadium.

You invite me and most of the Frente memberships to kick this minority out of the Stadium… I think you didn’t understand me: I don’t want to kick anyone out of Calderon. I don’t care about the politics ideology of anyone inside the Stadium, everyone is free to have different ideology… I am not for kicking anyone out of the Stadium because of their way of thinking, so I reject your invitation. It will be the Spanish justice or the Club the responsible to ban dangerous or subversive people, but for their actions not for their way of thinking.

As you say above, Political symbols have been forbidden at Spanish stadiums. This is one of the actions I recommend to Spanish justice to take to reduce violence in futbol. This policy is welcomed to separate politics from futbol, but what we can’t do is ask every supporter for their ideology and kick out those ones that support Franco’s one.

I think we agree in the core of the issue, and only differ in pointing the Frente as the core of all the problems.

Ringo:
Regarding your comment “just because something is common, doesn’t mean it should be tolerated”, I think you didn’t read my full comment. So please read again, especially this part: ” I agree this kind of songs should be removed from futbol stadiums, but please, don’t point Frente Atlético to be the only guilty for a issue that is common in most of the Spanish Stadiums”.

Too many occurences of the word “idiot” to be a peaceful message.

starvs

Thank you for this illuminating discussion.

“Puto Vasco el que no bote es” (The one not jumping is Fucking Basque) sounds awesome and not that derisive, but I probably don’t understand the context fully.

Luisrod

Wow, Vallecas, thank you for being so straightforward. I guess that our friends in this website already got a pretty clear idea about Frente Atletico by now.

Nevertheless, I cannot resist the temptation to continue my dialogue with you a little longer. I apologize for boring everyone else. Your English is too strong and your writing too articulate not to have a prominent position in Frente Atletico. If you do not have it yet, you could.

Yes, we do agree in a number of things. I am glad that you also would like to see politics out of football. I do agree that the number of Pranco´s Spain national flags behing the South goal is becoming smaller overtime. And yet, not small enough. I do agree that there are racists, prejudiced, intolerant people in other parts of the stadium as well, scattered here and there. The racist ones among Frente Atletico members are not alone in their hatred. I definitely agree that no one should be banned from the stadium because of his ideology, but because of his actions, including his chants. I do agree that Frente Atletico is not the source of all problems. Just the source of some huge problems.

Let me add some more disagreemens.

1) A mutually consented riot!? All right, between consenting adults I am ready to tolerate pretty much anything. However, you should meet in the middle of nowhere, in some empty field between Seville and Madrid. Not in the middle of town. And not in my name or my club´s name. Do you want to risk battering, manslaughter or murder charges? Do you want to carry in your conscience having sent to a wheelchair for life or to a graveyard another human being as violent as yourself for no other reason than getting an adrenaline rush? it´s up to you. But do not use Atletico as an excuse for your violent way of having fun. Keep violence out of football, and football out of violence. This has nothing to do with a football game.

2) You do not want to kick anyone out of El Calderon, and I do. I want to put limits to the kind of actions, banners, and chants people can do during a football game. Just a few simple rules: no politics, no racism, no national, cultural, religious offense. Mocking and teasing the oponent should be allowed. Offending the opponent, his family, friends or co-nationals should not. I want to be able to take my children to the games without exposing them to the kind of crap that you guys sing. And yes, the rest of the stadium signs a lot of the nasty songs too. I want to be able to invite my Catalan and Basque friends and family to the stadium and make them feel welcomed, not alienated. I want them to feel as part of the same country, not hated and despised as if they were the enemy coming from a different planet. I am not sure that you guys realize how much your attitude pushes Basque and Catalan initially pro-Spain people closer and closer to Basque and Catalan nationalism.

3) As for your Polish group of friends, Ruch Chorzow supporters, there must be a very powerful reason for them to travel 4,000km to support a team other than their own. Who pays for those trips? Are you sure that it is not fascist ideology what unites this group to a group of Frente Atletico supporters? Or is it just the violence? I followed your advice and got some additional information. Here you have a youtube interesting photo show put together by one of these Polish psychofans http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X51meiTypBk
And here a Wikipedia article on hooliganism in Poland http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X51meiTypBk

4) Finally, I hate violence. This is probably our most fundamental disagreement.

Ringo

I know using the word “idiot” doesn’t make the message peaceful, but I think Luisrod’s proofs show it’s one of the words you could use to describe the people ruining the game and even some people’s lifes. You don’t have to agree with me, but I see no intention for peace with “idiots”.

Davide

It’s sad how many Polish fans are pro-nazi and pro-fascist when Poland was the country that suffered most from Nazi brutality in WWII. Probably a few people in every Polish family tree suffered torture or death from the Nazis. And yet they support an ideologi they actually know nothing about. I had a debate once with group of pro-nazi and pro-fascist football supporter. They basically do not know any history or what these ideologies stand for. Probably 99% of them are dumb as bricks or what dropped on the head as babies. You have to look very hard to find people that are more stupid and uneducated then these people.

Davide

1982 Vallecas//

You do realize that you are only making it worse with every comment you make? You rationalize by saying “everybody else does it” so why not us. You are not responsible for everyone else in Spain, you are only responsible for the behaviour of your own group. So if another Ultras group in Spain go jump of a bridge, it mean Frente has to do it to?

I remember Marseille game in CL few years back. Frente made a fool of themselves. We knew it was your fault and you started all that shit, but we still defended you and said Marseille fans started the trouble.

Personally i am tired of having to defend the behaviour of the neanderthals in Frente, and tired of having to explain to people and be ashamed of the clubs “supporters”.

Get a job, girlfriend, a life or whatever makes you people not be such misfits of society with the brain of a monkey. Be different, yes, but don’t be idiots.

Maybe you are one of the good ones, probably not by the way you are making excuses. Give back the club to the supporters that love the club.

I really wonder when you will learn that your behaviour only hurts the club and it’s reputation.

1982 Vallecas

Hi again guys

First of all thank you for keeping a polite conversation of a so tricky subject.

I invite every one to spend a game at Fondo Sur or to join Frente in a trip. You will probably realize that most of the comments are completely exagerated. Let me insist that probably most of you reading this lines think that Frente is a group for war and fascism, and it is quite far from the real world: It is a group for support and fun…

Luisrod:
I see we agree in the most important points. As you see we are not inhabitants of different planets 😉
I agree with you in points 1, 2 and 4. Just insisting you not pointing only at Frente for all this disgusting actions. Remember scarfs like “Puta Sevilla”, insults and signs can be seen all over the Stadium.

3) Of course you can find crap about every group in internet, check youtube for hooligans in England (it means all the English supporters are evil people?), search also for children sexual crimes in Christ religion (all the christian priest are rappers?) and so on, and so forth. That you guys are doing is the beginning of racism: You see some actions, you associate those actions to a group of people and finally everyone in that group supports that kind of actions and are responsible for all those actions performed in the whole country.

It is very important the watcher is able to differ if this is a continuos behaviour or isolated actions… By the way, nice Tifos in your videos, beautiful to see the Stadium full of flags.

Davide:
Please explain yourself when you say I make it even worse with each comment. I think all of them are really polite and respectful. I don’t understand you at all.

Regarding your comment “You rationalize by saying “everybody else does it” so why not us”, let me forward you to the same response I gave for a similar comment to another colleague:
Regarding your comment “just because something is common, doesn’t mean it should be tolerated”, I think you didn’t read my full comment. So please read again, especially this part: ” I agree this kind of songs should be removed from futbol stadiums, but please, don’t point Frente Atlético to be the only guilty for a issue that is common in most of the Spanish Stadiums”.

Really tired of receiving insults for my group, such as neanderthals, monkeys… These are similar insults racist people say to black players (don’t want to look like one of them), so please relax the language in your comments.

I don’t remember any bad behavior of Frente Atletico during the game against Marseille. Can you remind me? I only remember Marseille’s fans aggresive attitude, insulting songs for Atletico until they were put down by Spanish police.

A kind regard for all of you

Javi

1982 Vallecas: I would like to personally experience what it is to experience an atleti game from the FA perspective so I can make up my mind about all the issues flying around on this post
When can u get me two tickets for a game?

Luisrod

Well, Vallecas, you must acknowledge that a pro-Nazi Polish cannot be the smartest human being on the planet. Close second in dumbness to a pro-Nazi Jew. I am with Davide here. You must also give us that it is not particularly smart to make monkey sounds to offend, upset or discourage the opponent having black players in our own team. Wouldn’t you also say that it is quite pathetic to use the word “gipsy” as an insult (!?) against Seville players and fans when sooo many supporters in the stadium have Andalusian or Seville family origins, and particularly, having had a highly praised gipsy coach, Quique Sanchez Flores? I guess that you can also see pretty clearly that it is quite idiotic insulting Basques from a club founded by Basques, a number of whose historic heroes are Basque, and a number of whose current fans are Basque or from Basque origin, including me.

You can pretend with our Atletico fans friends who live far away from Madrid that all these are exaggerations, but you fool nobody here. Hooligans are the same everywhere. They sing nasty crap in all countries. Our friends in this site know very well their own local hooligans. They know that not all of them are idiots, but also know that most of them are. They know that not all of them are violent or racist or pro-Nazi, but know that all of them condone and support those kind of attitudes by sharing activities, trips and offensive chants with people who are violent, racist, and pro-Nazi.

You definitely do not fool me. I have had season tickets for Atletico for 41 years. I know Frente Atletico too well.

One thing is for sure. You are no fool. Please do not pretend to be one. You do not care about the ideology of people you share activities with when their ideology is such a prominent factor in the way the activity is shaped and filled with content? Don’t you see some problem here? Think again.

1982 Vallecas

Well, I guess we are boring most of the friends in the forum, just talking about this issue an not apporting anything new with each comment.

Luisrod, you can keep trying fool people in this forum, but I prefer they come to Fondo Sur and take their own ideas about. That is not a battlefield as you pretend to be.

We agree in the core of this issue, but not at pointing at FA as responsible for every bad attitude. I can assure that even in FA did not exist violence, offending chants and hate between clubs woulb be a part of the Calderon and European futbol. Your goal of no violence in futbol is also mine, but we are too far to achieve at this moment, and even farther if you point to the wrong target.

let me continue with my simil regarding your comments: i suppose you will agree there is a lot of south american people that work selling cocaine, heroine and use violent groups to limit their borders. I can find lots of evidences about this actions in internet, piece of news, videos, etc as you did with our Polish brothers.. So, according your commennts what we should is kicking all south americans out of Spain as there is a prominent group that make crimes every day. I think your comments are not solid at all. Think about it again

Luisrod

I agree, we must be boring everyone else. We have both made our points pretty clearly by now. Thanks for keeping the conversation in a respectful tone.
Aupa Atleti

rodericus

I don’t want to jump into the discussion at this point but I would like to say that Frente Atletico would probably be a regarded a bit better by other Atletico fans if they wasted less time in chanting terrible things against Puerta (RIP), Juanito (RIP) or calling Marcelo a monkey and put more effort in criticizing on a daily basis the Gil family who are the only ones to blame for 24 years of degradation of the club.